Watch This: Jim Henson's 'Time Piece'

Yeah, I miss the world of puppetry he became famous for, how could I not? But there's something I am missing a whole lot more. I miss the man and creator I never knew, the one I wish could have balanced the Muppets and Sesame Street with his previous adult fare. See, back in 1965, he wrote, directed, and starred in a short film called Time Piece. Let me rephrase that -- the awesome short called Time Piece that earned him an Oscar nomination.

A wild, surreal look at the philosophy of time, the film starts with Henson in a hospital as a doctor tries to listen to his irregularly beating heart. Henson taps his fingers, he coughs, and soon he's not an invalid. Visually and aurally set to the same beat, Henson's Man is briskly taken through a number of settings and scenarios. I'm talking everything from reenacting Tarzan's epic, vine-swinging cry to a lascivious dance scene that mixes dancing chickens, nipple tassels, and the champagne pop of sexual innuendo. And it's all from the mind of Jim Henson.

Time Piece has got a '60s groove, and while its absolutely puppet-free, some visuals definitely have that early '80s PBS feel. And like I haven't gushed enough, when all is said and done, Henson wraps it up with an ending credits sequence that's just plain excellent. I know he loved those puppets. But oh, how I wish he made more films like this. Watch it after the jump.